Payroll in Bulgaria 2026: contributions, 10% tax and euro pay

In Bulgaria the employer withholds the employee's share of social security and health contributions (13.78% for someone born after 1959) and a flat 10% income tax from each salary. On top, the employer pays its own share of about 19%. Since 1 January 2026 everything is calculated in euro and paid to the National Revenue Agency by the 25th.

Payroll in Bulgaria at a glance

Social security contributions

Contributions are due on the employee's gross monthly pay, but never on less than the minimum insurable income set for the employer's main economic activity and the employee's occupation group, and never on more than the maximum insurable income. The split for employees born after 31 December 1959:

Born before 1960. Employees born before 1 January 1960 are not in the universal pension fund; their whole 19.8% pension contribution goes to the state fund, split 8.78% employee and 11.02% employer. The total cost is the same.

Work-accident rate. The employer alone pays the work-accident and occupational disease contribution, between 0.4% and 1.1% depending on the main economic activity. For 2026 the rates follow the KID-2025 classification, and from 1 August 2026 the rate changed for 7 of the 87 activity codes, for example from 0.7% to 0.9% in food manufacturing and from 0.7% to 0.5% in architecture and engineering.

Guaranteed Receivables Fund. The DOO budget law for 2026 suspends contributions to the Guaranteed Receivables Fund for the whole year.

Maximum insurable income. The DOO budget law for 2026 (State Gazette No. 68 of 28 July 2026) set the monthly cap at €2,111.64 from 1 January to 31 July and €2,300 from 1 August to 31 December 2026. Pay above the cap carries no contributions. The minimum insurable income for each activity and occupation group is set in the law's appendices.

Health insurance. The health insurance contribution remains 8% in 2026, shared 60:40 between employer and employee like the sickness and unemployment contributions.

Income tax on salaries

Bulgaria taxes salaries at a flat 10%. The tax base is gross pay minus the employee's own mandatory social security and health contributions. The employer withholds the tax each month and pays it with the contributions. There is no regional or municipal income tax on salaries.

Minimum wage, working time and mandatory pay

Minimum wage. From 1 January 2026 the national minimum monthly wage is €620.20 (Council of Ministers Decree No. 243 of 2025). It is also the floor for insurable income where no higher minimum applies, and from 1 August 2026 the minimum insurable income for self-employed people is set at the same €620.20.

Until 31 July 2026, while the 2026 budget laws were still pending, the minimum insurable income for self-employed people stayed at €550.66.

For 2027. The 2027 budget presented by the Prime Minister on 14 October 2026 foresees a further increase in the minimum wage, without an amount yet, and a rise in food vouchers from €100 to €200 a month, of which only the first €100 would stay tax-free. Check the adopted figures before January 2027.

Thirteenth salary. Bulgarian law does not require a 13th salary.

Monthly payroll calendar and filings

1. 1Register each new employment contract with the National Revenue Agency, and request an identification code (IKO) from the NSSI so you can check the insurance data you have filed and the benefits paid to your staff.
2. 2Pay salaries and withhold the employee's contributions and the 10% tax.
3. 3Pay the contributions for the month in which the work was done by the 25th of the following month.
4. 4File declaration 1 (data on each insured person: insurable income, contributions, days of insurance and taxable income) with the NRA by the 25th of the following month.
5. 5File declaration 6 and pay the withheld income tax between the 1st and the 25th of the month after the month in which it was withheld.
6. 6Late or extra pay: pay for a month that is calculated or paid after the deadline is declared, and its contributions paid, by the 25th of the month after it is calculated or paid.

Worked example: €2,000 a month

An employee born after 1959, single and without children, earns €2,000 gross a month in August 2026, below the €2,300 cap. The employer's work-accident rate is 0.4%.

With a higher work-accident rate the employer's cost rises by €2 for each 0.1 percentage point.

Common mistakes

1. 1Using lev amounts or the 2025 caps: since 2026 everything is in euro, and the cap changed again on 1 August 2026.
2. 2Calculating contributions below the minimum insurable income for the activity and occupation, or above the maximum.
3. 3Applying the universal pension fund split to employees born before 1960.
4. 4Using an old work-accident rate: check the KID-2025 table for pay from August 2026.
5. 5Taxing gross pay: the 10% applies after the employee's mandatory contributions.
6. 6Missing the 25th for payments or declarations 1 and 6.

How Clientlly helps

Clientlly does not ship a built-in payroll profile for Bulgaria. An administrator enters the Bulgarian payroll rates once in the payroll tax settings: the income-tax bands, the personal allowance, the employee and employer contribution rates and the minimum wage. Clientlly then calculates gross to net and the employer contributions and produces payslips. Check the Bulgarian specifics for each employee: the year of birth, the minimum insurable income for the occupation and the maximum insurable income for the month.

Alongside payroll, the human resources module handles leave requests and approvals with a leave calendar and keeps HR documents, and attendance and time tracking records working hours and overtime.